Recipe of the Week

Two new delicious breakfast ideas for you. These look to good to be healthy right? Well would you believe me if I told you that these are both sugar-free and butter free. They do not taste sugar-free or butter free though. These are sweet, moist and melt in your mouth. I got both of these recipes from www.chocolatecoveredkatie.com . This website has been my go to for baked goods lately. She uses substitutes for the not so healthy ingredients that too many of our breakfast foods and desserts are loaded with like apple sauce and other pureed or mashed fruit and vegetables, beans and nut butters. Nothing I have tried from her site taste "healthy" or like diet food either. The cinnamon bun baked oatmeal is so good when I close my eyes and don't see that it is oatmeal I could swear I am eating a gooey, moist, flavourful and delicious cinnamon bun. I like it better than most cinnamon buns I have had and just as much as the best ones I have had.

Cinnamon Bun Baked Oatmeal
2 cups quick oats
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 cup honey
1 cup unsweetened apple sauce
2/3 cup milk, juice or water
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup oil or almond butter (if using oil scale the liquid back)
1 cup raisins and/or chopped pecans
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Combine all ingredients and pour into custard cups, ramekins or muffin tin that have been greased. Bake 15 minutes or until firm and then broil for 3 minutes (optional, just browns the tops).   Beat 1/2 pack cream cheese and 2 Tbsp. honey. Spread over the top of each baked oatmeal. If you are lactose intolerant the is a recipe on the website for vegan cinnamon bun frosting using soy products.

Breakfast cookies
You can make them any flavor you want. Ideas are peanut butter banana, peanut butter chocolate chip, pumpkin pie or spice cake, oatmeal raisin... The ones in the picture are peanut butter banana chocolate chip.

2 cups quick oats
1 cup apple sauce, pumpkin puree or mashed banana
1/2 cup almond butter or peanut butter
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup raisins or chocolate chips
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Stir apple sauce and nut butter until well combined. Mix in honey and vanilla. Add the remaining ingredients. Place in 2 Tbsp. mounds on cookie sheet and bake 14 minutes.